Tractor frame



Jan. 30, 1923. v 1,443,355

, J. c, FRENCH.

TRACTOR FRAME, .FILED Dor. I8, 1917. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3v J, C. FRENCH. TRACTOR FRAME.

Jan. 30, 1923.

4 sHEETs- SHEET 4 FILED OcT. I8, 1917.

Patented dan. 30, 1923.

Unirse sra'rss einen Paranal carica.,

JAMES C. FRENCH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0

F. C. AUSTIN-MACHINERY COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.l

TRACTOR FRAME.

Application. "led October 18, 191'?. ySerial No. 197,212.

ToaZZw/w//a may concern.' i

kBe it known that I, JAMES C. FRENCH, `a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Tractor` Frames, of which the following is a specification. y

This invention relates to tractor plows of that kind in which the plow itself, or plowbottom, as it is called, is supported by a Yframe mounted on front traction wheels, said frame taking the place of the ordinary plow-beam, and means being provided for raising and lowering the forward end portion of said frame on the traction-wheels, and the motive power, such as an internal combustion engine, being carried by the forward end of the said frame, whereby the plowing-machine thus provided is of a selfcontained and unitary character.

Generally stated, the object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved tractor plow, or self-propelled plowing-machine, of the foregoing general character.

A. special object is to provide an improved construction and general arangement whereby, in a tractor plow of this type, al seat is provided so that the driver may ride on the machine, and l also means for steering the machine to the right or the left, so that the rider may control the direction of travel of the machine, as well as theraising and lowering of the plow-bottom out of and into the ground, from the seat thus provided.

Another Objectis to provide an.` improved construction and arrangement whereby, in a tractor-plow ofthis type, both front trac` tion-wheels will travel on thetop surface of the ground. neither wheel running in the furrow, so that the machine can be steered and controlled easily and inthe desired manner, and will be level while traveling across country from one place to another,

It also an object to provide certain details and features of construction and come binations tending to increase the general etti-v ciency and desirablity of a self-propelled' plowing-machine of this particular construction. i

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists in mattershereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings :y y

Fig. I is aside elevation of a self-proypelled plowing machine embodying the prin- `with a handle 2 for lturning the wheel C `plow-bottoms raised to a position to permit the machine to travel from yone place to another without operating in the ground, theftwo plow-bottoms or gang-plow' being raised above the top surfaceof the ground. Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section on line VFiglis a plan of the plowing-machine shown. in said Figures l and 2. y

F ig. 5 is an enlarged detail section on line 5-5inFig./l.'. l f Fig.-6 is an enlargeddetail section` on line 66inFig.t.,`` y y Fig. 7 is a detail section on line 7-4-7 in Fig. 6. y

. F ig. 8 is a detail section 'on line 8 8 iny Fig.7. L'

Fig. 9 is a detail section on line 9 9 in Fig. w y

As thus illustrated, this inventionr comprises a body frame A which takes Athe place' yengine B by which the machine is operated..

At its rear end said lframe is provided with a single wheell C "provided'i'vith `a vertical spindle c mountedin bearings i on the frame. The upper end of this spindle is provided about its verticalsteering axis, so that thc` machine can be steered to the right orthe rleft.` The rear end of the frame A. is pro- `vided with a pair ofliandles or clasps 3,211.-

'ianged in position substantially. like those ot the oriflinary walking plow. and a drivers seat if is provided and supported in position between rthese handles. lever 5 piroted on the 'trame and arranged within reach of the driver `and suitably connected by a rod with a leverY-on the engine,v

whereby the clutch or transmission controlled to start and stop the machine. The forward portion of the frame Ay is provided with a Ytransverseshaft D having pinions d 4 on the ends thereof, whichpinions engage the internal geanteeth 8 ofthetwo traction `wheels E, these pinions Zbeing connected to said shaft by ratchet devices 9, of any suitable character, so that` when necessary said li D traction wheels .E can rotate faster than the pinions CZ, as will be the case when the maj chine is steered abruptly to the right or the left, for in such case the traction wheel at` the outside ofthe vturn must: rotate faster than the traction wheel on the inside, these ratchets taking the place, to a certain extent, of an ordinary differential gearing. The engine is suitably connected to drive the shaft D, andin this way the traction wheels E are rotatedtoj propel. the machine. Of course, the frame A must be suitably supported bythe wheels E and for this purpose the axle F is mounted in suitable bearings on said frame formed intherear ends of the .swinging arms j', the .latter having their forward ends suitably mounted onvthe axis provided by the shaft D, whereby the rear ends `.of these arms f swing up and down abouty said axis. The side portionsof the frame A are provided with segmentalslots 10 curved about the axis D, and the axle F travels up and down, relatively, in these slots when'the frame A is raisedand lowered. To support the frame A on theaxle F, pinions 11 are mountedloosely. onsaid axle, and are connected to berotated there onby the worm wheel 12 which engages the worm 18 suitably arranged above. Then the worm 13 is rotated, the worm wheel 'l2 is rotated on the axle F, and this rotates theY pinions. 11 on the axle. Saidr pinions 11 enga-ge the segmental racks 14 which are secured tok the inner sides of the frame A, and, consequently, rotation of said pinions causes said rac-ks to `move either upward or` downward, thus causing the frame A to move up or down.y The rear ends of the arms f are preferably provided with portions 15 to engagethe curvedguides 16 vwhich are securedto the outersides of the side-plates 17 of the body frame, Vwhereby the structure is render strong andgsubstantial. A longitudinally disposed steering shaft 18 is connected byy ak universal joint 19, or in any suitablemanner, with the worm 13, andis supported at its ,rear end by a bearing 2Q suitably mounted on the body frame. The saidrear end ofthe shaft 1S is provided with aliandswhe-el. 21, and by rotating thiswheel, which is within easy reach ofthe rider occupyingfthe seat fl, the frame A. will be raised and lowered on. the axle F, andrelative thereto, but the rear portion of the frame will 'remain at the fixed heightat which it is supported by the rear steeringwheel C, aswillfbe readily understood.

Anything maybe carriedv by the frame A, butv the tractor or self-propelled vehicle thus provided isdesigned witlrspecial reference to the solvingof some of the problems involved in thes'uecessful construction and operation of a tractor-plow, and forrthese purposes the two plow-bottoms Gr, each consisting, as usual, of the ordinary plow-share and mold-board, arevsuitably supported on short beams 22 and 23, which are arranged parallel between the sides of the body frame. .l`l1ese beams 22 and 23 may be supported in any suitable manner, as by connecting, their forward ends at 24 and 25 with the crossmember 26 of the main body frame. Also, the rear ends of these beams 22 and 23 can be suitably supported on a cross-member 27 on the main body frame. Preferably, as will beseen, the two traction wheels E rotate about a common axis, so that they both Itravel on the top surface ofthe ground, and` the two plow-bottoms are arranged accordingly-that is to say, the two plow-bottoms cut twoy furrows immediately behind the two traction wheels, but when the next double furrow is out, neither traction-wheel will travel in the previous furrow. The; rear wheel C, however, travels directly behind the two plow-botto1ns in the double furrow out thereby, and with clearance at both sides of this wheel, whereby said wheel can be turned to the right or the left in an easy niannerat any time to Control the direction of travel Aof the plowing-machine as a whole.

l/V ith the foregoing construction, it will be seen, the plow-bottoni, or plow-bottoms, must enter the ground point first, and must come out ofthe ground point first, which is desirable for reasons well-known and well-understood.V lith the machine standing' on-the top surface of the lground, as shownin Figure 2, the lowering of the frame A relative to the axle F. will cause the. points or toes of the two. plow-bottoms to point downward and forward, and forward motion of the machine will then-,cause the two plows to slide forward and downward into the ground, which they will continue to do until a maximum depth is reached, which will be when the frame A is practically horizontahand when the bottom of they rear steering` wheel C isA in line horizontally with the lower edges of the land-slide plates and plow-shares ofthe two plow-bottoms. 'llhis is called leveling the plow, andk as soon as the leveling operation is complete and the maximum depthy is reacheth the p lowhottonis will then move forward aty the givenv or fixed depth re quired for, the furrow. is raisedrelative to theaxle F, the front end of said frame willtilt upward, inas muc-h as the steering wheel C is stil] down in the furrow, so that the. toes. or points of the plow will point upward and forward, and in this way the two-,plow-bottoms will slideout ofthe ground point first. Should it be necessary at any time to do this, the driver, while standing ony the ground, can grasp the handles 3 and lift the rear end of the plowingfmachine, and drag it over sidewise like an ordinary walking plow.

While the invention is shown in conjunction with an implement comprising two plows, it will `be understood that the implement can be of any suitable character and for any desired purpose, without departing-from the spiritof the invention.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a self-propelled vehicle, the combination of a body frame, front traction wheels, an axle for said wheels, means pivoted on said body frame to support said axle, so that the axle'swings up and` down relatively to the body frame about a transverse axis, thereby altering the angularity of said frame, pinions on said axis, kgear toothed membersfor engaging said pinions to communicate power therefrom to said traction wheels, means for communicating power to said pinions.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1, in combination with guides on said frame for said axle, said guides being curved about' said transverse axis.`

3. A structure as specified in claim 1, in combination with curved guides for said pivoted means, which `guides are curved. about said transverse axis, and means including worm gearing on said axle and a rack and pinion for raising and lowering the body frame relatively to said axle.

4. A structure as specified in claim l, in"

combination with mechanism for enabling 5. A structure as specified in claimV l, in f combination with a curved rack rigid with y said body frame, a pinion on said axle to engage said rack, and means to enable the driver to operate said pinion for the purpose of swinging the axle up and down relatively to the body frame, thereby ineffect to raise and lower the body frame.

6.- Ina vehicle structure, the combination yof a pair of front wheels, a 'rear wheel, a

body frame supported by said wheels` and ,movable up and down relatively to said 'ront wheels, in combination with mecha-` nism for enabling the driver to raise and lower the body frame relatively to said front wheels, said mechanism` comprising means pivoted on the body frame to connect .the wheels therewith, so that the wheels swing up andV Vdown relatively to ythe body frame about a transverse axis disposed in front of the axis of the two wheels, a rack rigid with the body frame, apinion on the axley to engage said rack, and means controllable by the driver for rotating said pinion, thereby in effect'to raise and lower the body frame. y Signed by meat Chicago, `Cook County, Illinois, this 3rd day of October, 1917.

. JAMES C. FRENCH. 

